On the eve of the 50th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination, the civil rights leader’s niece tells FOX Business that he would have been encouraged by how the strong economy is helping the African-American community.

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“The jobs rates are up including in the African-American community,” Alveda King, a former Georgia state legislator, told FOX Business’ Charles Payne on Tueday. “If my uncle were here today, he would be encouraged by that.”

Dr. King was shot and killed at the age of 39 in Memphis, Tennessee, on April 4, 1968, a day after giving his “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop” speech. He was in Memphis to support striking sanitation workers.

King said her uncle understood 50 years ago that a “God pay love” system would prevent people from destroying the economic structure that keeps communities together.

“When people are working, feel safe and secure, then we don’t have the chaos in the communities that tear down the businesses and educational systems and those who want to be generous with their money,” she said.

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